ABC is Thursday's Most-Viewed Network With All of its Shows Posting Series Highs
Written By: Sally Smith October 9, 2014 [via ABC press release...] ABC is Thursday's No. 1 Network Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-34 Rising to Series Highs, ABC's "Nashville" is the No. 1 Scripted Show in its Hour Among All Key Demographics "Last Resort" Wins its Hour Among Men 25-54, While Posting its Best-Ever Teens 12-17 Rating Up for the Second Consecutive Week, ABC's "Wisteria Lane" Sweeps Thursday Night With Series Highs in All Key Demographics Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.) With a slate of original programming, ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday in Total Viewers (24.7 million), and a strong second in Adults 18-49 (9.7/25) to an "X Factor"-led FOX, outperforming CBS's '''(8.1/21) and NBC's (8.3/21) all-original lineups''' on the night by 20% and 17%, respectively. In addition, ABC won the night in Adults 18-34 (10.8/25) for the third consecutive time this season, outpacing its nearest competition by 8% (FOX, 9.9/25). "Nashville" (8:00-9:00 p.m.) Building week to week for the second consecutive telecast, ABC's "Nashville" was the No. 1 scripted show in its hour among Adults 18-49 (9.7/26), outpacing originals on CBS ("The Big Bang Theory" & "2 Broke Girls", 8.9/21) and NBC ("Revolution", 6.7/18) by 9% and 45%, respectively. During the 8 o'clock hour, "Nashville" won among Adults 18-34 for the third consecutive week, besting FOX's "The X Factor" by 19% (11.2/26 vs. 9.1/28). In addition, "Nashville" grew at the halfway point (6%, 9.4/25 to 10.0/27), marking its largest half-hour growth ever. · "Nashville" posted series highs across the board Thursday night, including Total Viewers (26.2 million), Adults 18-34 (11.2/26), Adults 18-49 (9.7/26), Adults 25-54 (7.6/26), and virtually every other key demographic. Compared to last year, ABC's "Nashville" is up 223% among Adults 18-49, making it the biggest year-to-year gainer of all television shows. "Last Resort" (9:00-10:00 p.m.) ABC's "Last Resort" was the No. 1 television show in its hour' '''among Men 25-54 (9.6/18) for the '''third consecutive time' this season, outpacing its nearest competition by 5% ("1600 Penn", 9.1/30). "Last Resort" placed third with Adults 18-49 (6.6/18) during the first half-hour, but qualified as the No. 1 series among all key demographics during the second half-hour, outpacing CBS's and NBC's veteran comedies by 10% ("How I Met Your Mother", 6.0/17) and 74% ("Parks and Recreation", 3.8/11) among Adults 18-49, respectively. ·ABC's seasoned drama posted its best-ever Teens 12-17 rating '''(2.2/18), topping its previous high by 18% (1.8/20). "Last Resort" has shown to be a '''heavily DVR'd show, adding an average of 2.4 rating points and 4.6 million viewers to its Live + 7 Day numbers. "Wisteria Lane" (10:00-11:00 p.m.) Television's No. 1 drama this season, freshman "Wisteria Lane" was Thursday's No. 1 show among all key demographics for the second consecutive time, including Total Viewers (30 million), Adults 18-34 (14.1/30), Adults 18-49 (12.9/30), and Adults 25-54 (12.2/30). During the 10 o'clock hour, the growing "Desperate Housewives" spin-off outperformed originals on CBS ("Elementary", 9.0/25), FOX ("The Following", 8.8/21), and NBC ("Chicago Fire", 10.3/27) with Adults 18-49 by 43%, 47%,' '''and' 25%', respectively. "Wisteria Lane" '''outperformed its nearest nightly competition' in Adults 18-49 by 4% ("1600 Penn", 12.4/30). In addition, the drama grew extensively at the halfway point (19%, 11.8/28 to 14.0/33). · "Wisteria Lane" had a weekly growth' '''leading to' series highs across the board Thursday, for the '''second consecutive time this season. This season, the comedy-drama is''' topping'' ''its predecessor's season one average', "Desperate Housewives", which aired its first season on ABC in 2004. With Live + 7 Day averages, "Wisteria Lane" is the '''No. 1 show this season among all key demographics', and is also the most DVR'd show on television. A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 56% currently, from 51% at the same point in 2013. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen. Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Ratings, 10/09/14.